


we got there eventually

by itstiredandy



Series: My Soulmate AU [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Soulmate AU, long distance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28430772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itstiredandy/pseuds/itstiredandy
Summary: When Oikawa's signed volleyball goes missing at the same time Iwaizumi's plastic godzilla miniature suddenly disappeares, both wonder if there isn't a prank being played on them. But the universe is a bit more mystical than that.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: My Soulmate AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079600
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	we got there eventually

**Author's Note:**

> it's a repost from a work of soulmate au oneshots i have, enjoy anyway!
> 
> i found so many typos and misspelled words, i wanted to die

Oikawa Tooru didn't normally lose anything. He was organized, at home, at school, anywhere really.

The day that his volleyball, signed by a few members of the current Japan National Volleyball team - which took him a few train rides and a lot of begging for him to get -went missing, he questioned his parents about it. "Neither of you saw it lately?"

His mom had been making coffee while his father had been washing the dishes. Neither looked at him to answer.

"I haven't been to your room at all, Tooru." His mother handed him a mug full of the black drink.

He looked at his father. "Same here." The man replied.

Walking back to his room, taking sips from his coffee, Oikawa pursed his lips. _Someone must've stollen it,_ he thought. Oikawa never took it out of the shelf in his room, much less touched it unless it needed cleaning. 

When he inspected the spot where his volleyball was supposed to be in for the second time, he found a plastic Godzilla in its place. Funny thing though... he recognized the toy. He knew who it belong to. Oikawa was the one who gave it to them when they were kids. Now, why Iwazumi's toy replaced his volleyball on his shelf was something he couldn't figure out, for the life of him.

"This..." Iwaizumi handed Oikawa his volleyball at school, during lunch, "showed up at my house yesterday."

 _Well this is weird,_ Oikawa bit the inside of his lips.

Taking the ball back, he dove into his backpack to pick Iwaizumi's Godzilla. He placed in on Iwaizumi's palm. "I didn't know you still had this, Iwa-chan."

"Tooru, what the hell?" His friend's face morphed into a half mad, half confused expression. "Why did you have this?"

"Why did you have my ball?" Oikawa questioned back, holding the object up. "It's like they switched places on their own. I haven't been to your house in a while, Iwa-chan."

The bell rang while they talked. Walking together, they went for the hallway. "This is weird." Iwaizumi remarked.

"Weird," Oikawa prompted, "is that you still have a plastic toy of Godzilla." 

"Huh?" A vain came popping out of his friend's head. "Do you want me to kill you, trashkawa?"

Oikawa smiled, waving at him as he walked to his own classroom. "I just didn't think it meant that much to you, Iwa-chan."

Volleyball back in its small shrine, Oikawa rubbed his hands together in a sense of accomplishment. 

"Welcome home." He smiled before turning off the lights and going to bed.

Waking up the next morning, he sat up to look at the shelf above his head. He had dreamt that the ball went missing again and in its place was the plastic Godzilla again. For a moment, he could remind himself that was just his head making up scenarios. The peace didn't last long, because as it turned out, it was a prophetic dream. His ball was gone again. He reached up to grab the old toy.

In less than a minute, Oikawa was pushing the call button on his phone.

"Yes, your volleyball is here." Iwaizumi answered on the other end.

Oikawa looked at the object on his hand. "And your Godzilla is here."

"Someone's playing with us." His friend suggested. "This has got to be someone fucking with us."

"Maybe..." Oikawa clicked his tongue.

"I don't like that sound." Iwaizumi remarked. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." A little white lie was told. "We'll just trade again at school."

Oikawa waited for his response before hanging up. "Yeah."

If the objects switched places again, Oikawa would be convinced it wasn't just someone fucking with them. 

He lived with his parents in an apartment that was nine stories high. Unless they were complete suicidal, no one would climb up that high to get to his apartment. If they did, Oikawa was fairly certain he'd hear the window on his room being opened since the thing was old and rusty and made that sound that resembled nails dragging on a black board. There was also the possibility of lock picking the front door. That's why he'd give it one more shot.

Why would someone go through that length just to have a laugh at him and Iwaizumi anyway? There were easier - better - ways to be entertained. 

With his volleyball back in his hands, Oikawa was worried what all this back and fourth could do to the signatures on it. The paint would get smudged or - Oikawa could kill someone if that happened - accidentally erased.

Of course, Iwaizumi was as crazy as the sport as Oikawa was. He would take care of the ball. Oikawa trusted his friend to handle it, and not get his precious signatures erased.

He was convinced.

The objects switched places again and there was no way in hell someone had gotten into his apartment. The night before, Oikawa had gotten the biggest deep tray he could find, filled it with water and placed it in front of the door.

If the intruder didn't just wet his feet on the way in, they would at least bump on it and have water fall on the floor. The floorboards were all dry.

"What is this?" His father sent a suspicious look flying into Oikawa's direction.

"Preventive measures..." He took the tray to the sink, avoiding the man's gaze.

Oikawa's phone rang in his pocket. He picked it up.

"No one came here last night." Iwaizumi spoke first.

Oikawa sighed. "Same here."

"What the hell is going on?" His friend questioned, his voice sounding as frustrated as Oikawa felt.

He shrugged. "I would be telling you if I knew, Iwa-chan."

They didn't bother trading objects again. And after the end of the month, the plastic Godzilla went back to Iwaizumi's place and the volleyball went back to Oikawa's. The boys could almost pretend like nothing had happened.

But then Oikawa's favorite shirt went missing. One with a pocket on the left side of his chest and and alien cursing drawn on it. It was replaced by Iwaizumi's laptop.

At school, Iwaizumi brought Oikawa his shirt. "There's not a lot that gets me mad-" 

"Are you sure, iwa-chan?" Oikawa teased, passing him the laptop.

"I swear to the universe, I will kill you." His friend made a hand gesture that seemed like he was strangling someone.

"You're stressed." Oikawa dropped the mocking attitude. "Confused, and frustrated. I know. This is stressing, and confusing and frustrating."

"And they're just gonna switch back tomorrow." Iwazumi's posture also softened. 

Pulling air inside his cheeks, Oikawa released it. "True. And we can't find a why."

The not missing but switching deal - it's what Oikawa called it - didn't stop. Not even when they went to different college and stopped meeting up as often. But sometimes, it was harder to realize what went missing.

"I have a new ballpoint pen." Iwaizumi put the pen closer to the computer's camera. "I think I'd remember if I had bought one of these recently."

Oikawa didn't have to inspect it too thoroughly. "Yup, that's mine. And I," he reached under his desk to get a pair of black and red sneakers, "got these."

Iwaizumi's face was priceless. His friend reached at his hand and grabbed tuffs of his hair, leaning into his laptop. "I'll have to go a month without those? Seriously?!"

Closing his lips tight, Oikawa forced himself not to laugh. "I'm sorry, Iwa-chan. Maybe this month will pass by faster."

"Bullshit." He fell back on the chair. "They're my favorite pair. If they come back with any dirt on them, Tooru, I'll-"

"End my existence, I know." Oikawa smiled at the empty threat. "I love you too, Iwa-chan."

The only light source in Iwazumi's room was coming from the bedside lamp. Oikawa couldn't tell if there his cheeks were redder or if he'd just imagined it.

"You've been sleeping well, right?" He changed the subject. "You look better than the last time we Skyped."

After nine months without seeing Iwaizumi in flesh and bone, Oikawa would meet him at a coffee house inbetween his university and his friend's. 

He got there first, holding his newly acquired item coming from Iwaizumi's belongings. This time, it was a book on human anatomy. He'd taken up drawing recently so the book was more artisticaly inclined than scientifically. Oikawa got to the spot first, flipping through it after having taken the table near the giant glass window.

When the barista approached him, Oikawa order a Dark Mocha Chip for himself and a Hojicha Tea Latte for Iwaizumi.

The place was quiet for a few minutes, until the front door bell rang. The dark brown haired boy entered, a backpack on his back, without having to look much for Oikawa.

"I saw you from outside." He said, sitting down. He looked at the beverage in front of him, cupping his hands around it. "Thanks." He took a sip. "Am I too late?"

Oikawa grinned. "I had my fun" he glanced at the top bottom of the anatomy book, "with anatomical terminology."

"You can be entertained with anything." Iwaizumi took the book from him and closed it, getting his own backpack to dig through the contents inside. "Here."

The boy slid across the table a Coke plastic decorated bottle. Not the one they sell at supermarkets, but the one you can by at an actualt Coca Cola store. Yes, that’s a thing. Oikawa's eyes widened at it. _So that's where you went!_

Being away from Iwaizumi had been more berable when they only Skyped. Now it had been three days - and sixteen hours - since Oikawa had seen him and he wondered if the fact that everything had changed but at the same time nothing had, was what made him miss his friend more. Nine months was a lot of time, no matter what your perception of it was, but meeting Iwaizumi again felt like being back in high school. It felt like they had been seeing each other every day like they hadn't gone to different colleges. Up until they had to part ways again, that was.

And the heartache persisted. Instead of it mellowing out - like snow under the hot sun -, it just growing and growing like a stubbornly persistent tumor. Benign or malignant, it didn't really matter. It was just a bother, one that was one the verge of killing Oikawa.

They Skyped every week, but most days were busy and the calls seemed to be getting shorter and shorter...

"But we spent almost an hour talking every week anyway." Iwaizumi reminded.

Oikawa just pouted. "I still miss you."

"Me too, Tooru." Iwaizumi smile but it was the sad kind, the 'oh my god missing someone is a terrible thing' kind. Oikawa knew that one as well as he knew the one and only boy he was skypping. "I have your portrait to keep me company this time around."

Laughing, Oikawa nodded. "And I, your giant body pillow. I can't believe you bought one of these, Iwa-chan! Feeling too lonely without me around, are you?"

His friend definitely blushed. "It's comfortable."

"What is it that you have of his this time?" Kuroo, Oikawa's college buddy, questioned one day at lunch.

He was aware of the whole story. Oikawa had debated whether he could tell him the story of not - maybe Kuroo would think he was cuckoo - until Kuroo himself went to him and said his jacket had been switched with Kenma's newest nintendo DS. So now he knew and they had something to talk about every month.

"Some paint brushes." Oikawa replied. "You?"

"Kenma's old Nekoma uniform." Kuroo laughed to himself, probably nostalgic over old memories. "For a guy who wasn't too serious about volleyball, he sure is a big sentimentalist."

"Kozume-san..." Pensively, Oikawa used two fingers to play around with his bottom lip. "You two just started dating, no?"

"Yup." Kuroo stuffed a fork full of meat on his mouth. "Why?"

"Nothing." Oikawa waved it off. "Just thinking..."

Daichi, an old friend he knew, also had started dating someone whose belongings were also switching back and fourth with his own. 

_Is this a pattern? Does Iwa-cha like me?_ Oikawa thought for a second before a realization hit like a truck. _DO I LIKE IWA-CHAN?_

It was definitely a pattern. Of course it was a pattern!

You belongings didn't just switched randomly with someone else's, you needed to have a connection. And that connect... was romantic?

Oikawa did consider himself to be a big dramatic and romantic sap but even this was too much for him. Except, it made more sense than anything else he thought or that had been suggested to him.

He did like Bokuto's theory which implied the existence of both aliens and the idea that they cared enough to do something like this. But Oikawa thought aliens were probably more interested in understanding human life rather than to screw with them.

Maybe it was soulmate thing.

And Oikawa managed to surprise even himself with only that single thought. Did he think Iwaizumi was his soulmate? They did get a long pretty well, even with Iwaizumi's occasional death threats - which Oikawa knew he didn't mean. He was also the first person to come to Oikawa's had to do something with, tell something to.

Maybe they were soulmates.

"Iwa-chan, I was wondering if you had a theory about our things just switching owners like this." 

"Since my someone is fucking with us one was debunked, I haven't come up with anything else." Iwaizumi responded in between his sandwich bites. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Oikawa wasn't sure what to tell his friend - if he should say anything at all. He didn't want to spook the guy saying 'hey, i think we're meant to be together because of this and I have zero basis to back this up but I have my gut feeling, so what'dya think?'.Iwaizumi would probably think he was on drugs or something. "It doesn't happen with us only, you know."

"I do." Iwaizumi proceeded to tell Oikawa that Hinata, aka Chibi-chan, also had the same thing with Kageyama. 

_HA!_ Oikawa smiled. _I saw that one coming from miles away._

"He must be stoked." He said, meaning Hinata. 

"Of course, but he won't admit it." Iwaizumi smiled. Hinata was his new roommate since the new semester begin and Oikawa imagined they'd gotten pretty close. "And Kageyama's no better."

Realizing he was in love with his childhood friend was a slow and excruciating process for Oikawa. Here were the problems:

1) Iwaizumi probably didn't like him back

2) They lived miles apart now

3) The stress brought on by college didn't help

4) AS IF HE HAD ANY COURAGE AT ALL TO CONFESS HIS FEELINGS TO THE BOY WHO CONSTANTLY SAID HE'D KILL OIKAWA 

... who also happened to be the boy to make sure Oikawa slept, ate, and took care of himself since day one. Who was also the boy who showed more support for him than most people he had once considered friends. Who was the same boy who made sure to talk to him at least once a week, if for nothing else just to see if he was alright.

 _Dammit. He's the best fucking guy I know._ Oikawa remarked to himself, burying his face on his pillow. _Of course I'd fall for him._

The official veridic was given by one in the morning. With Bokuto snoring on the bottom bunk, Oikawa just knew that Iwaizumi'd see the dark bags under Oikawa's eyes when they Skyped again after classes.

Acting as if he hadn't sorted out his own feelings towards Iwaizumi was easy to do when they only saw each other through camera computers. But Oikawa would met him up again soon and he wasn't sure if his acting skills were that good. When he thought of being close to Iwaizumi again... It was a rush of emotions.

Happiness.

Excitement.

Embarrassment.

Anxiety.

Terror.

They de-escalated.

Iwaizumi could also see through Oikawa, he was sure he'd notice any changes in behavior Oikawa might have. And he wasn't sure he could lie to Iwaizumi, not about this. And if he asked, he didn't want to.

"Take deep breaths." Kuroo tried to help. "Even if he doesn't like you back, which you know I highly doubt, it won't be the apocalypse."

Oikawa was mildly annoyed by the last comment. "In my world, it will be."

The gym bag Oikawa carried to the train station was Iwaizumi's. The lastest of his belongings that popped at his dorm room. Oikawa still hadn't figure out what of his had disappeared though. Sometimes it was something so small or just mostly irrelevant to his daily life that he didn't notice.

He'd met Iwaizumi at the cinema this time. 

The boy had gotten there earlier than Oikawa, waiting by the front entrance with all their popcorn and drinks.

"Caramel, right?" Oikawa strolled over there in a rush, leaning onto the popcorn. 

"It's like you don't even know me!" Iwaizumi playfully teased, which didn't happen very often. Oikawa assumed he was in the extreme of good moods cause that comment seemed so unHajime, something must've happened.

"I love you." Oikawa said out of habit, but now he meant it as something more.

"Love you too, Tooru." His friend smiled, leading them to the theater room.

They had chosen a romantic comedy to watch. Oikawa was satisfied with both ends but he knew Iwaizumi was only there for the comedy part - which was almost always stretched too thin.

But watching a romcom now felt absurdly ridiculous in Oikawa's mind. He analyzed the move from the person who fell in love first's perspective. But he had more fear to be rejected that that protagonist, who seemed to muster a mount of courage coming out of nowhere by the near end of the story. At the same time life was more complicated than the movies, it was also a whole lot less dramatic, something Oikawa felt immensely grateful for. Loving Iwaizumi and not being able to tell him was already enough to terrorize him, he wouldn't be able to handle an ex fiancée of something along the lines of.

He hated that he was on a date - not a date - with the guy he wished he could go out with.

**_Torment, oh torment of the heart!_ **

Poetry had that theatrical effect that also made it seem like life was a movie. Or a dramatic musical. Or both combined - what a nightmare that would be. Except Oikawa loved musicals more than he cared to admit to most people.

**_Torment, oh torment of the mind!_ **

**_Your love is untouchable_ **

**_But it burns me from deep within_ **

Literature class was more bearable when Oikawa hadn't realized he was in love with someone he couldn't have. Now he just wished the teacher would shut up and let Oikawa sleep away the rest of the semester. But he was dead wrong if he thought that could actually happen.

Instead, to torture himself more, being the masochist that he was, Oikawa played around with Iwaizumi's wrist watch. He didn't use it out of respect, but he did bring it along to classes. Without any clocks in the classroom, he could at least tell time with it - if nothing else. He was certain that Iwazumi now had Oikawa's old photographic camera and he wondered if it'd come back with his smell. His favorite t-shirt had, when they were still in high school.

New Year's came, not too long after. And then six months later, Oikawa's birthday.

While he was missing his glasses - yes, now his goddamn glasses were with Iwaizumi, he'd had to go a month without them but he had spares, they just weren''t as good -, Iwaizumi had sent him a book about photography on the mail. A month before, on Iwaizumi's birthday, Oikawa had sent him pajamas with Godzilla on them to replace the pens he then had to hold on to.

A week after the 20th, Iwaizumi showed up at Oikawa's dorm at night.

"Iwa-chan!" One could say the boy was surprised, since Iwaizumi had said nothing about visiting since their last Skype call.

"Hey." A smile greet him. "How have you been doing?"

"Great!" Oikawa answered, still stunned. "Just, great. What about you? Wait, what are- you have classes!"

"I do have a theory." Iwaizumi stared him straight in the eyes saying this. "About our things switching."

Oikawa gulped, not sure what to expected. "You came all the way here just to tell me this?"

Sighing, the boy seemed... agitated. That was a new side of Iwaizumi. "I came down here because I needed to see you."

"We Skyped last night." Oikawa replied, matter-of-factly. 

"Tooru." His name coming out of Iwaizumi's mouth had never sounded more urgent. "I needed... to see you."

Maybe Oikawa was understanding, or maybe he was hoping for too much. And if keeping all those feelings in was already killing him, being wrong about what Iwaizumi meant now would be the final blow.

"What's your theory?" He questioned.

"That I love you." Iwaizumi didn't waste time saying. "In a nonfriendly way. And that you love me. That same way."

Oikawa fought back a smile, without much success. "And how do you figure?"

"Holy shit, this is torture!" Iwaizumi exasperated. 

Laughing now, Oikawa couldn't pretend to not love the boy in front of him anymore. "I know. You're right, about me, I mean. I'm sorry. I do love you."

"In a nonfriendly way." Iwaizumi added.

"Can you just say romantic, Hajime?!" Oikawa squeezed his cheeks. "It's not a dirty word."

"No, it isn't." Iwaizumi held Oikawa's hands, gently in a way that was not entirely new. "It just makes things more real."

"How about this," Oikawa planted a kiss on Iwaizumi's lips. It took them more than a just second to break apart, "for more real?"

Oikawa thought he could figure out what Iwazumi's next words could be and to all there universes there could ever be, was he happy to hear them. "I like it a lot."


End file.
